Ani-Logics Outdoors

With winter settling in over most of the range of white-tailed deer, it’s a great time to be supplemental feeding. The benefits of feeding are that well fed deer will not be in a nutrient deficit, so they won’t need to burn as much of their fat reserves as unfed herds. This is a crucial time for deer as does have fawns developing inside them and bucks are shedding antlers. Feeding is also a great place to keep a camera set up and know when the optimal time is to start looking for sheds. We want our herds to do more than survive, we want them to thrive.

What’s the best feed to give your deer?  I get this question a lot and the simple answer is Ani-Supplement Gold. Not everyone can afford to feed Ani-Supplement Gold free choice to deer, so here I will break down the cost difference in the 3 most popular ways to give Ani-Logics protein feed to your deer herd.

Option 1:  Ani-Supplement GOLD. This is the easiest option because it doesn’t require any calculations or mixing. This is the ready-to-go, pour-it-out-of-the-bag option.

It has the highest amount of attraction power of any feed on the market. Along with the optimal protein level, it contains the Ani-Shield TX4, which is a blend of essential oils, probiotics, vitamins, and chelated micro-minerals that are all working together to boost immune system function, which leads to better antler growth and overall health of your herd. This option retails for $1.19/lb.

Option 2:  JAC (Just Add Corn) mixed with corn you source yourself. This option has all the same ingredients as Ani-Supplement Gold but is missing the corn. The recommended ratio to add your own source of corn is 2 parts corn to 1 part JAC, so one 50 lb bag will make 150 lbs of complete feed after you add 100 lbs of corn. The cost of corn fluctuates daily, but in most stores you can buy 100 lbs of corn for roughly $20. You can get corn cheaper at a feed mill, but not all feed mills sell corn in 50 lb bags. When you take the cost of corn plus the cost of JAC, you are looking at a cost of $0.67/lb.

Option 3:  Ani-Shield Base Mix plus corn and roasted soybeans you source yourself. This option is the most economical but requires the most mixing as well as brain power. To end up a 16 % protein complete feed we suggest mixing Ani-shield Base Mix pellets so that your complete feed has 10% Base Mix pellets, 64% corn, 25% roasted soybeans, and 1 % soy oil to reduce dust. Where you buy your roasted soybeans is the wild card in terms of cost. Some mills have their own roaster, so their roasted soybeans are around $0.30/lb. Other areas do not have roasted soybeans readily available, so they ship them in and cost is closer to $1/lb. For a conservative broad estimate, let’s say you can find roasted soybeans for $0.80/lb. Using the same corn cost as above in the JAC example, your complete feed for the Base Mix ration would be $0.46/lb.

Ani-Shield Base Mix contains only the essentials in terms of our TX4, so it’s up to you to source the grains in the finished ration. Although we recommend roasted soybeans, you can use any protein source that is readily available in your area. Cottonseed hulls are popular in Texas, while rice bran is popular across the Southeast, but those offer less protein than roasted soybeans. If you have any questions about what feed is right for you, feel free to reach out to us and we can help you determine what is the right way for you to keep your herd in the best shape possible.